EVERYONE’S DIFFERENT. Dogs have likes, dislikes, opinions, tastes, quirks, and preferences just as we do. Some of these individual traits may be influenced by your dog’s prior experiences and learning, his environment, and even his genetics. But some of them just are, and may even fly in the face of other factors (like laid-back terriers that don’t bark and herding dogs who have zero interest in chasing). It is important to observe your unique dog and ask yourself what motivates him as an individual to behave in certain ways, rather than making assumptions. Some dogs are highly motivated by treats, while others are way more into toys. Some dogs love praise and attention, and others prefer to keep their own space. And every dog will like some toys better than others, one food and not another, one person’s touch and reject the next. Even these opinions and values can change. What motivated him yesterday could bore him today. What worked to keep his attention in one moment can fail the next time around in the face of something more interesting.

DOGS HAVE BAD DAYS, TOO. Owners often panic when their beloved, well-behaved, wonderful friend has “one of those days.” The truth is, just like us, dogs will have days where their brain just isn’t working great, when they are inexplicably tired or grumpy, when they can’t seem to get anything right. If a bad day is an exception, and you don’t observe a pattern of strange behavior over days or weeks, chances are it was just a blip on the screen. Sometimes all there is to do is conclude it was a crappy day and move on. Tomorrow will come around soon enough, and chances are you can both forget today ever happened.

When behaviors are not adding up or seem out of character, or sudden changes in your dog’s demeanor or habits occur, consider the possibility that something in his internal world is amiss. If you suspect that this is the case, you should always, first and foremost, consult with your veterinarian, whose knowledge about many of the self-related symptoms may shed a great deal of light on a situation. That diagnosis of a urinary tract infection may make you finally understand why he has been struggling with his housetraining. The knowledge that he was an intact male for eight years makes his propensity for marking on all of your girlfriend’s houseplants a little more understandable. Remembering his bad leg and the arthritis he suffers can calm your nerves a bit when he decides to lie down in the middle of the street on the walk home and go no further. Your first instinct may have been to assume he was just being a troublemaker, but now you realize that he is responding to those inner conditions of body and mind the way that any one of us would.